The Alphabets of Latin America: A Carnival of Poems by Abhay K
2021; University of Oklahoma; Volume: 95; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/wlt.2021.0002
ISSN1945-8134
Autores Tópico(s)Cultural Studies and Interdisciplinary Research
Resumo0 conclusion, investigates Chinese adaptations of A Doll’s House and five other Ibsen plays: Peer Gynt, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, The Lady from the Sea, and The Wild Duck in various forms of modern Chinese theater, traditional Chinese opera, dance, and film. Tam argues that the Chinese stage has evolved as a space for political and cultural debate in modern Chinese society. Ibsen’s A Doll’s House has been staged many times since the early twentieth century, but the productions reflect ideological inclinations in presentations of Nora in different periods . Tam’s analysis posits a turning point in the evolution of Chinese culture from its socialist history to its postsocialist phase, as the Chinese self, as seen in these Chinese productions of Ibsen’s plays, moves from a power-based dynamic to a more fluid and variable dynamic of gender identity and body imagery. Tam’s incisive analysis is particularly compelling in the fourth chapter, where he explores the visual presentation of Nora’s multiple selves in the 2010 Norwegian-Chinese dance production of the play. His interpretive approach relates the psychoanalytic impact of Nora’s various figures to the cubist style of visual art, in which the subject is seen simultaneously from multiple perspectives, resulting in an inner portrait of psychological complexity . That “Nora has visually changed from a singular self to multiple selves” is an original line of thought that invites further analytical development. Many rare photos from Tam’s private collection are integral to the value of the book. Many of these stage photos are made available to the public for the first time. These photos, many in color, appear in chronological order, showing ideological and paradigm shifts in performance style. This beautiful book is an example of intercultural performance studies, with a wealth of materials from theater archives in mainland China, Norway, and Hong Kong, as well as a philosophical inquiry into the history of Chinese selfhood. Lily Li Eastern Kentucky University Abhay K The Alphabets of Latin America: A Carnival of Poems New Delhi. Bloomsbury India. 2020. 138 pages. INDIA AND LATIN AMERICA, two distant lands sitting tens of thousands of miles away from each other, share an unusual bond through Christopher Columbus. He called the hitherto unknown world las Indias and its inhabitants, the Indians. It is not a surprise that this indelible bond comes alive in Latin American poetry; most important would be Rubén Darío’s modernismo, in which he craved to take his poetic journey to the Orient. Borges, Neruda, Paz, Severo Sarduy, Jorge Zalamea Borda, and several other poets all drank a lot of water from the Ganges, some in admiration like Paz, Sarduy, Zalamea Borda, and others looking through a materialistic criticism (e.g., Neruda). However, India did not have such a counterpart until very recently, and as R Viswanathan, a retired Indian diplomat, rightly puts it: “Abhay K. is India’s counterpart to Octavio Paz.” Certainly it is too late, but better late than never. Abhay K., a poetdiplomat like Paz and Neruda, has offered in The Alphabets of Latin America a complete set of poetic odes to Latin America in its 108 poems, arranged alphabetically from “Amazon” to “Zocalo.” The collection is a vivid capture of history, vast geography, colorful culture, fiestas, sports, beauty, and sensibility. In some corner of the book, the readers get to celebrate samba or try poetic caipirinha or watch Oscar Niemeyer turning into Lord Vishwakarma’s avatar with his geometric football techniques. At the same time, it is a rare collection of poetry that has so many verses on poets and writers such as Machado de Assis, Fuentes, Paz, Ocampo, or the philosophical Borges and others. Furthermore, geography and nature lovers can experience Perito Moreno , Atacama, or the Nazca lines turning in a poetic art along with the favelas. Readers take a journey into the preColumbian world through verses on Xunantunich, Tikal, Tenochtitlan, Machu Picchu, and more, and in the next verse come back to the modern world. Abhay K. blurs the concept of linear time or space. In the poem “Tikal,” “The temple of voices rises in the air / like the Mahabodhi temple / a Mayan Buddha meditates / under the...
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